Acts of Love
by UberNerd121
Summary: The stress of hiding takes its toll on Nos and Two.


"Nos-4-a2, what is meaning of this?!" a Raenok officer growled. Two stumbled as he shoved her, staring daggers at him.

The Energy Vampire turned his optics onto the white probe, then to the Raenok. His gaze was without emotion. "The meaning of what, Vreeg? I'm sorry, but I can't read the minds of organic creatures, though it's a common mistake amongst the simpler of you flesh folk."

The insult was lost on the thick alien, though he recognized the condescending cadence. "Your probe has sharp tongue! Control subordinate or have her dead!"

"I don't even have a _mouth_ , dumbass!" Two spat. The hulking alien narrowed his dull, black eyes, drawing his arm back and swinging it down toward Two's head. Nos-4-a2's hand intercepted Vreeg's wrist only inches before it collided with Two's frame. He'd hardly moved, but his talons stopped Vreeg's fist with such force that it seemed to freeze in midair. Nos's expression remained level, but his optics seemed to burn a deeper red.

The Energy Vampire spoke, his voice slow and quiet, forcing the Raenok to pay attention to his words. "Thank you for the advice, _dearest_ Vreeg, but you can trust that I am capable of handling my own business." Nos dug his talons deeper into the Raenok's gauntlet. "And I know this is the last time you'll think about destroying my property. Now, if you'd excuse me..."

Nos's grip relaxed and the officer withdrew his arm, rubbing his wrist. The android turned his attention to Two.

"Follow me," he ordered. She fell behind him without a word, feeling the Raenok's gaze on her back. She kept her eyeforms focused on Nos-4-a2's shoulder blades, her exterior betraying nothing of her inner thoughts. He led her out of the conference room and down a dark hall lined with heavy doors. He didn't stop until they reached the very last room, so far from the crowd that the murmur of voices hardly reached them.

Nos pressed his hand to a panel on the wall, opening the door and waiting for Two to go inside. He hovered in after her and flicked his wrist, remotely closing the door with a hefty click. The light fixtures overhead fluttered into activation, illuminating walls with chipped, scored, and blasted paint; an uneven table against the back wall; two chairs, one of which was crumpled on the floor; and off-colored stains stretching all over the ground. Nos waited for a moment, listening at the door, then looked in her direction.

"...Eve, what the _hell_ do you think you're doing?!" his facade fell apart.

Her eyeforms narrowed. "What do you expect me to do, just sit there while they treat me like ‒ "

"YES!" Nos threw his hands out, "How many times have we been over this? _Every single person_ out there takes pride in calling themselves a _villain_!"

"So did you!" Two shouted back.

He bristled. "They aren't like me, Eve! They aren't putting on a show! They aren't pretending! What you see out there is _exactly_ what they are! Do you understand what's at stake?!"

"I-I..." she scoffed, "Of course I do!"

"Oh really?!" Nos towered over her, "Because in a room of people who kill and steal for a living, _you're picking fights_!"

"It's not like I was trying to! I was just ‒ "

"LISTEN TO ME!" Nos grabbed her shoulders, shocking her into silence. She froze. His optics were glistening.

"This has been going on for two years, Eve, and this is the third time you've come this close to getting yourself killed... How many times will it take for you to realize that this is serious? Should I just _let_ the next one cave your head in? You want me to take you to Earth in pieces?"

His stare was so intense that Two failed to find a response. His hands slowly fell off her shoulders as he straightened up, shaking his head. He backed away and fell into the one good chair, rubbing his hand over his face.

"Nos... I'm sorry," in the quiet after their shouting, her undertone seemed to echo through the shabby room. "I know it's serious, but pretending to be your minion is one thing... enduring some gross alien's robot fetish is different."

Nos dropped his hand, looking at her with disbelief. "Are you telling me that Raenok was _hitting_ on you?"

Two crossed her arms. "I guess you could call it that. He wasn't exactly a wordsmith."

Nos stood back up, hovering closer to Two and glaring toward the door. "What a filthy beast."

A smile crept onto the probe's visor. "That's almost exactly what I told him."

He scowled at her again, "But of course, I would never say it to his face since I fully appreciate the sensitivity of our situation."

"Yeah, yeah..." Two sighed, drifting so she could lean against him. "...I can't wait until we get to Earth and we can be away from all of this."

Nos's expression softened as he slipped his arm around her frame. She fit into him so comfortably, he couldn't help putting his other arm around her, too, lifting her so he could rest their heads together. "You know that I would take you away from here in a moment if I could, right?"

Two closed her eyeforms and pressed her visor into his chest. "I know."

"Computer and I have been trying to make a plan for months, but even if I can slip away without drawing too much attention... Earth is part of the Galactic Alliance now. It's not like I can expect to blend in without being recognized."

Two bunched the fabric of his cape in her fingers. "Don't talk like that. It's going to work out."

"How do you know?" he mumbled against the top of her head.

"Because I have to."

He stared for a moment before hugging her tighter, shaking his head so that it nuzzled against hers. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too."

"Now, we have to go back out there, and I need you to promise me that you won't give anyone a reason to kill you. I can't be expected to escape to Earth on my own, now, can I?"

Two laughed, her face still flat against his chest. "I guess. Just keep me away from that Vreeg creep."

"Easy. Everyone will think I've been torturing you in here, so stay close to me, keep your eyeforms down, and don't say anything. I'll take care of the rest."

"Fun. I've always wanted to pretend I've been beaten into submission," she mumbled.

Still keeping his arms around her, Nos pulled back enough to see her visor. "I hate this too, alright? But we've done it before, and we can do it again. It won't last forever."

"You're right," Two sighed. "And afterwards..." she hovered up to his level, "we can enjoy some real privacy in the ship."

Nos melted as her spark danced across his lips, feeling it tingle through every wire in his body. He had to force himself to pull back.

"Eve, you're only making this harder..."

"Yeah, well, you should have thought about that before you kidnapped me."

His laugh rose from deep in his throat, one of her favorite sounds in the world. "You have me there, darling."

"Ready to go?"

Smiling, Nos pulled away. He brushed her cheek with his fingertips, ran a breath through his ventilation systems, and let his expression fall flat again.

"Never. Let's go."


End file.
